European Ocean Biodiversity Information System

[ report an error in this record ]basket (0): add | show Print this page

MASDEA: Marine species database for Eastern Africa
Vanden Berghe, E. (2005). MASDEA: Marine species database for Eastern Africa. Indian J. Mar. Sci. 34(1): 128-135
In: Indian Journal of Marine Sciences. National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources, CSIR: New Delhi. ISSN 0379-5136; e-ISSN 0975-1033
Peer reviewed article  

Available in  Author 
    Vlaams Instituut voor de Zee: Open access 74520 [ download pdf ]

Keywords
    Biodiversity
    Information systems
    ISW, West Indian Ocean [Marine Regions]
    Marine/Coastal
Author keywords
    biodiversity; information systems; western Indian Ocean

Author  Top 
  • Vanden Berghe, E.

Abstract
    The Marine Species Database for Eastern Africa (MASDEA) was started in 1996, in the framework of a collaborative project between the Regional Cooperation in Scientific Information Exchange - Western Indian Ocean (RECOSCIX-WIO) and the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI). Since then, it has grown to a substantial database, with over 20,000 taxonomic and 50,000 distribution records. Since 1999, the database has been online, through the web server of the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), and has attracted a reasonable amount of hits, some resulting in comments, and corrections and additions to the content. Some of the decisions taken at the design stage of the database are discussed. A preliminary analysis of the data in the database is presented. This clearly shows a marked ‘observer’ bias, and demonstrates the need to continue the efforts of collecting information.

All data in the Integrated Marine Information System (IMIS) is subject to the VLIZ privacy policy Top | Author